Hace algunos días leí un artículo de Vanity Fair España donde se ordenaban las colaboraciones de diseñadores con H&M de mejor a peor y he querido hacer lo mismo desde mi punto de vista (aunque no haya podido asistir a todas las ventas y mi único recuerdo sean los moretones y arañazos haciendo fila para Versace)./A few days ago I read an article in Vanity Fair Spain with every H&M fashion designer collaboration, ranked from worst to best and I wanted to something similar but from my point of view (though I haven’t attended all sales and my only memory are the bruises and scratches from the Versace sale).

Algunos me matarán por poner a Wang en esta posición del top, pero considero que su colaboración con H&M (a pesar de haber sido un fenómeno en redes y una especie de premonición de unas de las tendencias más usadas hoy en día) era más para incondicionales y fans de la marca con prendas que parecían ideadas para ir al gimnasio o practicar boxeo… En Ciudad de México me tocó encontrarme con algunas prendas en rebaja después de la venta./ Some will kill me for putting Wang in this position of the top, but I think his collaboration with H&M (despite being a phenomenon in social media and a kind of premonition of some of the trends we use a lot today) was more for unconditional fans of the brand with clothes that seemed designed to go to the gym or boxing… In Mexico City I found some clothes of the collection with discounts after the sale.

12. ROBERTO CAVALLI, 2007

Sí, vale… Las colecciones de H&M con diseñadores también son ‘Made in China’ pero su poder comunicativo va más allá de los euros acumulados: pavimentar el camino para aquellos que podrían representar clientes potenciales en un futuro. Cavalli quería acercarse a un público más juvenil y dejar de lado a sus clientas más exóticas. ¿Lo logró? Digamos que quedaron restos en las rebajas, aunque la melodía de la campaña se nos haya quedado pegada como un chicle./Yes, okay… H&M collaborations with designers are also ‘Made in China’ but the communicative power goes beyond the accumulated euros: these collections are good to pave the way for those who could represent potential costumers in the future. Cavalli wanted to approach a younger audience and set aside their more exotic clients. What was accomplished? Some lefties remained in the sales, although the melody of the campaign got stuck on our heads like a bubblegum.

Fue la primera colección donde se implementó el sistema de pulseras y aún así al día de hoy el peligro de muerte al asistir a una venta de H&M sigue latente. Los zapatos (el fuerte de la marca) se agotaron en minutos. Entre tachuelas, animal print y destellos, esta colección sigue en el ranking de las más vendidas./ It was the first collection that used the system of bracelets and still today the risk of death by attending to a H&M sale remains latent. The shoes (the highlight of this brand) sold out in minutes. Among tacks, animal print and glints, this collection still ranked as one of the most sold.

9. KARL LAGERFELD, 2004

Hace algunos años la idea de hacer asequibles las creaciones de marcas exclusivas a las grandes masas pudo haber escandalizado a más de uno. Hoy la iniciativa comenzada por Karl Lagerfeld en el 2004 es ya una tradición a la que muchas otras grandes cadenas de ropa se han sumado. ¿La colección? Mucho blanco y negro en una oda al look mítico de Lagerfeld. ¿Las ventas? Bien. ¿La relación del kaiser de la moda con el gigante sueco? No tan bien…/ A few years ago the idea of making an affordable version of the most iconic pieces of exclusive brands may have scandalized a few ones. Today the initiative begun by Karl Lagerfeld in 2004 is already a tradition that many other major clothing chains have imitated. The collection? Much black and white in an ode to Lagerfeld’s legendary look. Sales? All right. The relationship of the kaiser of fashion with the Swedish brand? Not so good…

8. VIKTOR & ROLF, 2006

El resto de las prendas diseñadas por el dúo holandés quedó un poco eclipsado por el primer (y último) vestido de novia vendido por H&M. Al final, dicha prenda de 298 euros fue la menos vendida de la colección pero al menos se consiguieron inversores para Viktor & Rolf quienes venían de una mala racha económica. ¿Alguien sigue dudando del poder de estas colaboraciones?/ The rest of the garments designed by the Dutch duo was somewhat overshadowed by the first (and last) wedding dress sold by H&M. At the end, this dress of 298 euros was the least selling piece of the collection but at least this collaboration caught the attention of some investors who decided to buy a part of Viktor & Rolf who came from a poor economic streak. Does anyone still doubt about the power of these collaborations?

Prendas asexuadas, sobredosis de lunares y el color negro como una declaración de intenciones. Además de que la colección con la firma japonesa fue lanzada en el mismo año en que H&M abrió su primera tienda en Tokio. Alguien sabe como hacer negocios…/Sexless clothes, polka dots overdose and black color as a statement of intent. The collaboration with the Japanese firm was launched in the same year that H&M opened its first store in Tokyo. Some people know how to do business, eh…

4. MARNI, 2012

Tras el boom de la colección con Versace, las expectativas sobre H&M dejaron el listo muy alto. Marni no es precisamente la marca más popular dentro del listado, pero si una de las que han brindado uno los resultados más eclécticos, creativos y elegantes, tomando como inspiración elementos del diseño gráfico. Hoy es casi imposible encontrar una de las piezas en internet./After the boom of the collection with Versace, expectations for H&M were over the moon. Marni is not exactly the most popular brand of the list, but is the one that has provided the most eclectic, creative and elegant results, inspired by the elements of graphic design. Today it is almost impossible to find one of the pieces of this collection on the internet.

I had no idea that so many brands collaborated with H&M. I knew they collaborate with designers and I heard of the latest collaborations, but I didn't know it has been going on for so long. To tell you the truth, I have never bought anything from H&M. We have their stores here, but something kept me from buying or trying their clothes…I might be that documentary about toxic fashion. According to that documentary, H&M is the brand that has caused the most pollution…and I suppose that what makes them different from others is that they claimed they're ecological and have all these lovely photos on their websites but in reality their workers have been poisoned by chemicals…and well I didn't like what I saw in that documentary. Anyhow, from these collections I think that Versaci is my favourite…what can I say? I love a good print!;)

Hello dear Ivana! Thanks for your opinion and as I told you every single comment you post here makes me wanna improve my content and go deeply everyday! I know fashion (behind the pretty ruffles and the shining editorials) is hiding a dark part that you can't spot in the magazines. Yes, I buy at H&M (unluckily I'm not able to buy great quality clothes as much as I would like) but as much as I can I try to do it with responsibility and trying to use it as much as I can. That's why (even if I published this article) I didn't buy anything from Kenzo today… Everytime I'm about to buy something I ask to myself "Am I going to wear more than 15 times or is it just a simple trend that is going to go away in a few months?". I think the fashion industry is going to face complex situations in a near future, and therefore we will have to modify our consumption habits. Let me know if you can share with me this film, I would love to see 'cause of course I love fashion but I know that not everything in this world is about great things.

hi dear! I only manage to find this video about Toxic fashion on youtube but it is in French (the original language it was filmed in)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iEEDsU7YX8. I had watched it on TV so there were subtitles, this video doesn't have subtitles, but I think you can still see what is going on…and the interview with H&M representative is in English.

I wasn't implying that we should not buy H&M with my comment. Honestly, I think that H&M is not much different (or worse) from other clothing brands in this respect- they all claim to be ecological and this is often not the case. I actually don't think that such drastic actions as boycotting clothing brands can help anybody. For example, I remmeber hearing good arguments about how if we stopped buying clothes/products made in undeveloped countries, those people would lose their jobs…it is not a simple problem, it's complex. The state of economy is such that is practically impossible to produce clothes in the West…the economical system of EU and USA is collapsing, but that's another problem- I won't get into that now.

I also read this argument that it is not good to donate clothes to charity all the time because this only increases the pollution- those clothes from "charity" get sold in other countries and those people who 'donated' them are encouraged to buy more. That is why I think the best method is actually what you suggest- think before shopping! Buying only those items that we really like allows us to be less wasteful and hence more eco friendly! That is why I like to do…"different ways to wear one clothing item" posts on my blog. I think it is great when we can think of many ways to wear some clothing item. In addition, I think that a clothing item can become truly special only with time.

I did check out fashion revolution and I realized that I already visited that page and read about this trend- maybe I had read about it on your blog before? I think the best thing we can do is to become more aware. I think positive actions are always better than negative ones. I think it is better to buy one item from some local brand than organize protests against some known brand. Negative publicity is publicity too…that is why I prefer to talk positively about smaller brands…besides, the big brands employ a lot of people and I don't want to be taking away jobs from anybody.

I made one deal with myself. I decided that when it comes to birthday presents for my friends, I will buy products by local artisan. I think this is a good way to encourage local artists and small bussiness- plus it is something that is within my budget. I'm not going to say that all the clothes/products that I buy are from ethical brands, because I can't afford to shop like that, but I try to buy less and make the most out of my clothes- and I think that counts too.

My list is kind of similar to yours, but I would have put the Balmain collection a bit higher, because I, personally, really enjoyed it & still wear the items I bought 🙂And, ahh, I was so in love with the Marni collection, but back then H&M wasn't available in Latvia, therefore, I had no chances of even getting close to the collection :/

I like H&M. They have a variety of nice products at good affordable prices. I like when they do collaborations and bring you unique pieces. The one I liked the most was the collab with Balmain. Nice list 🙂xoSauniya | Find Your Bliss ♡

I respect all the collaborations that H&M has done especially with Roberto Cavalli who designs most of Beyonce's performance outfits, Jimmy Choo I mean their shoes….!, Karl Legerfeld who is the reigning king of fashion in my opinion, Versace and Alexander who bring gold to the fashion world but my favorite and most memorable collaboration will always be Balmain, these designs were of the charts, am all about structure and shape when it comes to fashion and Balmain brought that to life and the sales were Mega-massive! I really enjoyed reading this post and I learned a lot from it Pablo!!http://www.fashionstylemogul.com

Hola Pablo! I really enjoyed your post – you did great job on this article! I haven't known about all of these H&M collaborations before and if I'll do list, I'll put Isabel Marant a little bit higher – as you mentioned, the prices weren't inviting to buy something, but on the other hand collection was totally in my style and I can even admit that I bought a jacket from this collection, BUT a) I bought it in second-hand store for a less than 1 euro and b) it came from kids collection, but it suited me anyway, because I'm petite. What about Kenzo – I had seen the effects of this collaboration few years ago and I didn't feel that "WOW" feeling, if you know what I mean.Have a lovely evening, Pablo!